On March 20th, (Amb.) Mr. Amikam Levy, the Consul General of the Israeli Consulate in Shanghai accepted an interview from China Global Televsion network(CGTN) to talk about bilateral trade and economy.

China is Israel's third biggest trade partner in the world and the biggest in Asia. In 2016, more Chinese investments are flowing into Israel as M&A deals increased more than 30 percent year on year.

"We see China as the biggest market in the world," said Amikam Levy, Consul General of Israeli Consulate in Shanghai.

Trade volume between the two countries topped 11 billion US dollars last year. And Israel recognized China's full market economy status in 2005.

Talks about a free-trade zone have been underway since 2016. But apart from trade, the two countries currently have two cooperation platforms on technology and innovation.

Israel ranks top in the world for the percentage of R&D spending in GDP, as well as the proportion of scientists in total population.

"Every week, you’ll see another economic delegation going to Israel from China. You’ll see a lot of Chinese investments in Israel, in high tech," Levy told CGTN.

This has been a two-way trend. Since 2010, Chinese tech firms such as Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu have all invested in Israeli companies. And Israeli firms are investing in high-tech sectors in China as well, according to Levy.

"I think in medical devices and medical in general, this is number one high priority on both sides. Second is water technology, and everything related to water. The third priority in my eyes is all things and fields related to new energy, green energy," said Levy.